opposition

Caracas, August 13, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government and representatives of the defunct 2015 National Assembly announced a series of agreements after concluding a first round of talks on Wednesday. 

The two parties will conduct a process aimed at transforming the judicial system as well as promoting the recovery of Venezuela’s gold reserves frozen at the Bank of England to support the country’s reconstruction following the June 24 earthquakes.

The agreement on the judicial overhaul, presented in a joint press conference at the 5-star Melá Hotel in Caracas, effectively replaces the process the Venezuelan National Assembly had launched in May following a reform that increased the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) from 20 to 32 members and a preliminary evaluation of magistrate candidates. 

Instead, the delegations agreed to “renew and expand the judicial nominations committee,” launch a “new nomination process” for the appointment of all Supreme Court justices, and establish a council to review the credentials and requirements of nominees to ensure compliance with the Constitution.

The joint document signed by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, on behalf of the acting Delcy Rodríguez administration, and Dinorah Figuera, representing the opposition faction, makes no reference to the National Electoral Council (CNE), an issue considered key by anti-government forces. 

Figuera had previously vowed that the dialogue process would produce a new CNE by the end of 2026. Lawmaker Tomás Guanipa said that the opposition considers it “very important” for the issue to be addressed as soon as possible in order to “radically” change the electoral authority.

The negotiators instead prioritized “the recovery of the country’s international reserve assets” held at the Bank of England, while “establishing mechanisms for transparency, traceability, and auditing in their efficient use, to guarantee the well-being of all those affected” by the June 24 double earthquake.

Since 2019, the Bank of England has refused to release 31 tons of gold reserves belonging to Venezuela, which were deposited in 2008. Successive UK governments aligned with Washington in refusing to recognize the Nicolás Maduro government as legitimate. At current gold prices, the reserves are worth approximately US $4 billion.

Wednesday’s agreement likewise included a pledge to “work on strengthening programs for housing, electricity, healthcare, and debris removal.”

Acting President Rodríguez welcomed the “first step” in the dialogue process and urged all political forces to join the talks, “putting the well-being, peace, stability, and development of the country first.”

“I trust that this process will help build a path toward better democratic coexistence among the country’s different political sectors and that it will translate into concrete benefits for Venezuelans,” Rodríguez wrote on Telegram.

Following an initial session on August 6, the delegations held daily meetings split between plenary sessions and working sessions focused on the post-earthquake emergency and judicial and electoral reforms.

Jorge Rodríguez and Figuera pledged that the talks would yield “concrete actions” with “strict compliance with commitments.” The parties are scheduled to meet again in mid-September through both in-person and virtual sessions.

Before Wednesday’s joint press conference, Figuera held separate meetings with opposition groups and NGOs. Anti-government figures demanded that the release of “political prisoners” be a priority in the dialogue framework. Far-right factions have complained that María Corina Machado was not included in the negotiations, though the Unitary Democratic Platform backing her also met with Figuera last Friday.

The latest government-opposition negotiation initiative follows previous iterations, including in the Dominican Republic (2017-18) and Barbados (2023). 

Venezuelan authorities, including Jorge Rodríguez, had fiercely condemned the defunct 2015 opposition-majority legislature for usurping functions and plundering Venezuelan assets abroad. Rodríguez went as far as proposing that Figuera and associates be stripped of their Venezuelan nationality. Despite its mandate expiring in January 2021, a group of opposition lawmakers unilaterally decided to extend the term as the body retained recognition from Washington as Venezuela’s “legitimate government.”

The Trump administration has endorsed the latest dialogue process, with the State Department calling it a “unique opportunity” for a “political transition” in Venezuela.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Aug. 10 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok sharply criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s government Monday, accusing it of pursuing policies opposed by the public.

Jang called the administration a “government that has given up on the people” as he attacked policies ranging from housing and the stock market to proposals addressing housing for young adults.

“The president said that policies that harm people’s lives are worse than doing nothing, yet he continues rolling out policies that people oppose, that only hurt them and that would be better left undone,” Jang said at a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul.

Jang called for the dismissal of presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom and demanded a parliamentary investigation and special counsel investigation into single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds.

He also criticized a recent proposal by Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee to convert decommissioned buses into temporary housing for young adults.

“They say we should regard the proposal to create youth housing from discarded buses as an episode, but is that something to casually say to young people who feel they have to give up on their future?” Jang said.

Rather than telling young people to live in discarded buses, Jang said, “I hope they move the Democratic Party headquarters and Democratic lawmakers’ offices into discarded buses first.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260810010003058

For six years, Californians have been able to shake up a craft cocktail at home using alcohol delivered to their doorstep. Now, it’s last call for the distillery deliveries, unless lawmakers intervene by the end of this month.

That’s unlikely, thanks to opposition from California’s wine industry, Teamsters union truck drivers and corporate alcohol wholesalers and distributors.

The influential, well-funded groups lobbied the Legislature behind closed doors this year to block legislation that would have made permanent pandemic-era rules that allowed craft distillers to ship spirits directly to their customers.

During the pandemic lockdowns, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that allowed craft distillers to ship spirits to their customers’ homes. In the years since, lawmakers passed temporary laws allowing craft distillers — defined as those that produce up to 150,000 gallons a year — to keep shipping their spirits.

The latest extension expires Dec. 31.

“I don’t have a lot of hope that we’re going to be able to salvage this,” said Folsom Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover. He tried unsuccessfully this year to amend one of his bills to let small distillers continue shipping directly to their customers.

The groups blocking Hoover’s proposal have spent more than $1 million lobbying the Legislature and state government this year. They have donated at least 11 times that much to California politicians and their campaigns over the years.

The craft distillers, who have spent a fraction as much on state politics, say all that spending from the opposition, particularly from corporate liquor distributors, appears to have paid off.

Cris Steller, owner of Dry Diggings Distillery, talks about the various products that are made in his distillery.

(Fred Greaves / For CalMatters)

“They went directly to legislators’ offices and basically torpedoed any effort we came up with,” said Cris Steller, acting executive director of the California Distillers Assn. and the owner of Amador and Dry Diggings Distillery in El Dorado Hills, a family-run business that makes whiskey, brandy, vodka and gin.

The fight is about more than whether Californians can have a bottle of whiskey or gin delivered. It illustrates how decisions are made in Sacramento, where wealthy and powerful interests can shape or kill policy in secret negotiations with lawmakers. Politicians, in turn, benefit when proposals die quietly because they don’t have to explain their decisions to voters.

Opponents insist they aren’t using the political system to crush competitors as national alcohol sales slump.

Instead, representatives of the major alcohol wholesalers and distributors that stock shelves at liquor retailers say they oppose the proposal because it primarily benefits out-of-state companies and weakens safeguards that include preventing alcohol deliveries to minors.

Teamsters lobbyist Matt Broad said the labor group’s truck drivers aren’t opposed to allowing craft distillers to ship their product. They just want them to use established shipping companies that have actual employees, including those that employ Teamsters, such as UPS. Those companies, Broad said, have standards to ensure liquor is delivered legally.

Those companies have standards to ensure legal delivery, Broad said. When they employ drivers rather than use contractors, the companies — not the drivers — bear legal liability.

Federal law preempts California from mandating hiring unionized truck drivers, Broad said.

“We are absolutely not opposed to the little guys being able to ship directly to consumers, and in fact, we have a track record of supporting the proposal but with meaningful guardrails that protect our members and protect the public,” he told CalMatters.

The California wine industry, which has been allowed to ship bottles directly to customers in California for decades, isn’t necessarily opposed either. But its representative says wine sellers are leery of giving little alcohol sellers delivery rights when big liquor companies deserve the same. Wineries of any size can ship to their customers in California.

Big Booze, Big Labor spend big

The U.S. Postal Service prohibits most alcohol shipments to homes, but California allows certain types of alcohol sellers to use private shipping companies. Breweries are prohibited from shipping directly to California customers.

Hoover hoped his Assembly Bill 2211, a proposal to give craft distillers the ability to offer tastings and sell spirits at locations other than their distilleries, could be amended to give craft distillers a permanent direct-to-consumer provision.

It has advanced through the Legislature without formal opposition or any lawmaker voting against it, according to CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database. The measure is pending before the full Senate.

There may be no formal opposition, but reports filed with the California secretary of state show an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying effort aimed at preventing any changes.

At least six groups, including some of the biggest national alcohol distributors, have reported lobbying on Hoover’s bill.

The reports show those groups spent more than $1 million on lobbying this year. State ethics laws only require entities to report the total amount they spent lobbying the government in a year. They’re not required to report how much they spent on specific legislation, so it’s unclear how much they spent trying to influence lawmakers as they considered AB 2211 and its never-published direct-shipping amendment.

Those groups, along with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Wine Institute, have given at least $11 million to both Democrats and Republicans in California since 2000, according to Digital Democracy, including at least $738,000 since 2025, the start of the current two-year legislative session.

By comparison, California’s craft distillers reported spending $54,000 on lobbying this year.

They reported just three donations to lawmakers in the past decade, according to Digital Democracy. One was a $42 bottle of whiskey in 2022 to former Napa Democratic Sen. Bill Dodd, who now lobbies on behalf of the craft distillery industry. In 2023, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas received $215 in tequila. Democratic Assemblymember-turned U.S. Rep. Adam Gray received a $1,300 campaign donation in 2016.
Hoover said he has been trying since last year to add language to his bill that would allow craft distillers to permanently keep shipping. He succeeded last year in getting the extension that expires Dec. 31, but this year he’s been unable to overcome the opposition to expanding the tasting room measure.

“I’m always open to figuring this out, if there’s a way that we can make this work. … but I don’t have a lot of hope that this bill is going to preserve those provisions this year,” he said.

With less than a month left before the Legislature finishes for the year on Aug. 31, Democratic leaders would probably need to sign off on changes to Hoover’s tasting room measure. They’ve offered little indication they intend to intervene for craft distillers.

Rivas, who’s received at least $108,000 in donations over the years from opponents of Hoover’s unpublished proposal, declined CalMatters’ request for an interview. Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, who’s received at least $33,000, responded to an interview request with an emailed statement saying she is aware of the pending deadline.

“This bill will continue to work its way through the legislative process as intended,” it said.

Bottles of spirits produced by Dry Diggings Distillery in El Dorado Hills on Aug. 4.

(Fred Greaves / For CalMatters)

Democratic Sen. Susan Rubio and her sister, Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, oversee the committees that regulate California’s alcohol industry. When Hoover’s measure passed through their committees, the chairs could have allowed Hoover to add the direct-to-consumer amendment. They did not.

Susan Rubio has received at least $65,000 in donations from the groups blocking the direct-shipping proposal, according to Digital Democracy. Blanca Rubio has received at least $129,000.

Sen. Rubio’s spokesperson, Giovanni Ruiz Reyes, responded to interview requests with emailed statements. The first said “conversations between stakeholders are ongoing” and that she “looks forward” to reviewing potential legislation.

Ruiz Reyes said in a second statement Thursday that she’s supported four previous extensions of the craft distiller shipping policy.

“There is currently no bill or amendment before the committee seeking another extension,” Ruiz Reyes said. “Accordingly, it would be inaccurate to suggest that Senator Rubio or the committee has blocked or refused to hear an extension when no such proposal is currently before the committee.”

Assemblymember Rubio didn’t return interview requests.

Fewer Americans are drinking

The liquor industry is facing a nationwide decline as more Americans cut back on drinking.

In that difficult business climate, corporate liquor wholesalers and distribution companies lobbied “to obliterate competition,” said Dodd, the former state senator from wine country lobbying on behalf of craft distillers.

“We oppose any effort to make DTC (direct to consumer) permanent,” the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors and the California Family Beer Distributors wrote in a joint statement to CalMatters.

Craft distilleries’ direct shipping “was always meant to be temporary pandemic relief, and it’s expiring exactly as designed, six years later,” said the groups, which represent local and national companies that move many of America’s best-known beer, wine and liquor brands. They argue that after the law expires, spirits can still be delivered to customers through services such as DoorDash. DoorDash is listed as a member of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America on its website.

The groups’ representative, Kevin Luckey, declined an interview request.

Steve Gross, president and chief executive of the Wine Institute, said the wine industry has worked hard over the decades to have large and small wine sellers treated equally under California and national alcohol distribution laws. He said it would undermine his industry’s efforts if small distillers get delivery rights in California when large ones don’t have them.

“They have the option to go in and try and fight for a bill that we and others could also support,” Gross said. “They’ve chosen not to because those larger distillers are not their members.”

The Wine Institute is a lobbying group that represents more than 700 large and small wine sellers, including one of the world’s largest, Modesto-based Gallo Winery.

Craft distillers say they’ve tried to work with the groups blocking their bill to address their concerns, but they have gotten nowhere.

In the meantime, Steller, the El Dorado Hills distiller, has already started pulling back on shipping bottles to his customers because the Legislature won’t budge.

“I don’t want to keep putting money into a program that’s going to get yanked,” he said.

Ryan Sabalow writes for CalMatters.

An opposition lawmaker threw eggs at acting Prime Minster Albin Kurti during a parliamentary session which was convened to constitute Kosovo’s parliament following a snap election held in June.

Caracas, August 7, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government and a faction of the opposition formally began a fresh US-backed dialogue initiative on Thursday that is expected to renew the country’s judicial and electoral bodies.

After a plenary session, the two sides announced a methodology for the upcoming talks, and the ratification of the agenda that will guide daily discussions through August 12.

“On that day, the continuation of the plenary will be evaluated, taking into consideration the progress of the work and the results achieved,” stated a joint communiqué issued after the two sides held an in-person meeting at La Carlota Air Base in Caracas.

The government delegation led by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and the opposition faction headed by Dinorah Figuera, head of the defunct 2015 parliament, signed a set of negotiating principles based on good faith and the pursuit of benefits for the country, including political, peaceful, democratic, and constitutional solutions. The principles also include mutual recognition and respect, political equality, and parity between the parties.

The sides further agreed to produce verifiable commitments, the protection of the human and political rights of “all forces,” and to “promptly inform the entire country of the progress achieved in these conversations.”

Neither delegation spoke to the press after the initial talks. The government delegation, apart from Rodríguez, features Higher Education Minister Ana María Sanjuán, National Assembly First Vice President Pedro Infante, and lawmakers América Pérez, Génesis Garvett, and Jorge Arreaza. On the opposition side, accompanying Figuera are former lawmakers Marco Aurelio Quiñones, Ramón López, Jorge Millán, Juan Miguel Matheus, and Sergio Vergara. 

Thursday’s meeting followed a preliminary conference call on August 1 between Rodríguez and Figuera, who arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday, having been based in Spain for over eight years.

Upon her arrival, the opposition figure reiterated that the negotiations would lead to the appointment of a new “credible and trustworthy” National Electoral Council (CNE) by November and a “re-institutionalized” Supreme Court (TSJ) before the end of 2026.

The National Assembly had already begun discussions on reforming the TSJ. Lawmakers approved legislation reducing the number of justices on the Full Chamber from 32 to 20. However, a parliamentary process to appoint new justices was subsequently suspended. According to the Venezuelan Constitution, the appointment of electoral and judicial authorities is the exclusive competency of the legislature.

The two negotiating parties held a second session on Friday afternoon at the 5-star Meliá Hotel in Caracas, but offered no public updates.

The Trump administration welcomed the talks, describing them as a “unique opportunity” for reconciliation and “transition” in Venezuela.

“We applaud the efforts to address the urgent needs of those affected by the June 24 earthquakes, expand political freedoms, and advance a more stable and prosperous future for the Venezuelan people,” the State Department affirmed in a statement.

The communiqué added that Washington would remain committed to supporting the “Venezuela-led process,” while emphasizing the White House’s “three-phase plan” which culminates with a “political transition.”

The US-endorsed dialogue comes seven months after a military operation that saw US forces bomb Caracas and kidnap President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. In the months since, the Trump administration has wielded considerable influence over Venezuelan affairs, with US officials having input on legislative reforms and the US Treasury Department controlling Venezuelan export revenues.

The negotiations have caused tensions among different opposition factions, with far-right sectors criticizing the exclusion of María Corina Machado.

In a recent interview, Machado stated that she was not involved in the “design, construction, and functioning” of the dialogue, but vowed not to obstruct agreements that represent concrete advances toward a “democratic transition.”

In a statement, the Machado-led Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD) expressed its expectation that the dialogue will yield an “appropriate presidential electoral timetable” and pledged to assess the process based on “concrete achievements,” including the “release of political prisoners” and “electoral guarantees for all actors.”

In contrast, grassroots Chavista organizations have rejected the dialogue and denounced US “interference.” During a demonstration on August 1, the Popular Anti-Imperialist Front warned that the process was intended to place “US puppets” in the justice system and electoral authority, and subsequently organize “unconstitutional” elections.

July 31 (Asia Today) — People Power Party floor leader Chung Jeom-sik on Friday accused South Korea’s governing party of seeking to abolish prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority to help President Lee Jae-myung avoid his criminal trials.

Chung called the proposed revision to the Criminal Procedure Act “an unprecedentedly harmful law” that would remain a disgrace in the country’s constitutional history.

He also demanded the withdrawal of a separate bill that would shorten the review period for legislation designated for fast-track consideration, calling it a measure that would turn the National Assembly into a rubber stamp.

“In a few hours, the filibuster will be forcibly ended through collusion by the broader governing bloc and this unprecedentedly harmful law will pass,” Chung said at a People Power Party floor strategy meeting.

He claimed that more than half of the public opposed eliminating prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority but that the Democratic Party was disregarding public opinion.

The bill would bar prosecutors from conducting additional investigations after police transfer a case to them. Prosecutors would instead be able to request that police conduct further investigative work.

Supporters say the measure would complete the separation of investigative and prosecutorial authority and strengthen defendants’ rights. Opponents say it could delay investigations and weaken protections for crime victims.

Chung focused particularly on a provision governing when courts may dismiss criminal indictments.

He accused the Democratic Party of quietly adding language during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee that could make it easier to terminate the president’s pending trials.

“Is the ‘working National Assembly’ advocated by the Democratic Party merely a legislature creating an escape route to erase President Lee Jae-myung’s trials?” Chung said.

The claim that the provision was designed to end Lee’s cases represents the opposition party’s interpretation of the legislation.

Chung said ordinary citizens could suffer from inadequate or delayed investigations if prosecutors lost their supplementary investigative authority while powerful figures could escape legal scrutiny.

He described the bill as “the end of the rule of law.”

Opposition plans second filibuster

Chung also criticized a revision to the National Assembly Act scheduled to follow the criminal procedure bill.

The legislation would reduce the maximum review period for fast-track bills from 330 days to 90 days.

“This is an authoritarian law intended to turn the National Assembly more quickly into a machine that raises its hand and follows orders,” Chung said.

The fast-track system was introduced to prevent legislation from being blocked indefinitely while preserving time for negotiations among political parties.

Chung said the Democratic Party’s proposal would destroy that balance and encourage the hasty passage of legislation.

“There is a saying that trying to arrive 10 minutes earlier can send you 10 years too soon,” he said. “If legislation is rushed, the country could suffer lasting consequences.”

He called the proposal a “rubber-stamp National Assembly law” and said it should be withdrawn.

The People Power Party planned to begin a second filibuster immediately after debate ended on the Criminal Procedure Act revision.

Choi Eun-seok, the party’s senior floor spokesperson, said the filibuster against the National Assembly Act revision was expected to begin at about 5 p.m.

Chung also rejected a demand from Democratic Party members of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee that People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook be removed from the committee.

He called the demand an improper attempt to interfere with the opposition party’s committee assignments.

“The Democratic Party must abandon its authoritarian belief that the National Assembly is its property or its plaything,” Chung said.

Election commission investigation

The People Power Party said it would move quickly to establish a recommendation committee for a special counsel investigation of the National Election Commission.

The National Assembly approved the investigation bill Thursday through an agreement between the governing and opposition parties.

The investigation is expected to examine a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections and other allegations involving the election commission.

Choi said the party was reviewing potential candidates from several perspectives.

“We will work to establish the recommendation committee and launch the investigation as quickly as possible,” he said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260731010011674

Fifa president Gianni Infantino says he has scrapped the controversial plan to sell off stakes in the governing body’s major competitions, following widespread opposition.

Infantino said it had become clear the project had “created divisions” that are “no longer in the interest” of its original objective.

The Swiss added: “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

Infantino had offered all 211 member associations $40m (£30m) if they backed a proposal for private investment in its tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.

European football’s 55 member associations, Uefa, voted on Thursday to boycott World Cups if the plans went ahead.

Fifa’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said the governing body’s own administration had been “deceived” about the project.

Carlos Cordeiro – Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance – resigned over the mater, saying the proposal was “a bad deal for football” and would “mortgage football’s future”.

That came after two other major confederations spoke out against the plans.

Concacaf, which governs football in North, Central America and the Caribbean – and hosted this summer’s World Cup – said its members “rejected” the proposal, with sources saying the vast majority of associations from the region are losing, or have lost, faith in Infantino.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it stood in “solidarity” with Uefa and Concacaf, while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead Fifa.

Infantino, 56, is now under immense pressure as he seeks re-election for a fourth term as president at the Fifa Congress in March.

He said he now intends to “bring all interested parties back together” in the “spirit of shared interest” in football.

More to follow.

Kizza Besigye, who faces treason charges, is reported to be ‘unconscious’ in hospital after collapsing in court.

Detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been hospitalised in an unresponsive state after he collapsed during a court hearing on Wednesday, according to his wife.

Besigye, who has been in prison since late 2024 on treason charges, is now “unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive”, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, said in a post on X on Thursday.

He has been admitted to the intensive care unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital, Kampala, added Winnie Byanyima, who also ‌heads the United Nations AIDS programme UNAIDS.

Byanyima has called for her husband to be transferred out of Mulago hospital, a public facility, and into a private facility where he can be treated by his personal physician.

“[Besigye’s] family is saying he needs special treatment and they do not trust the government hospital,” reported Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi from Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.

“There’s a lot of frustration. The court has not granted that permission for him to be transferred.”

‘Not responding to anything’

Besigye, 70, was seen falling into the dock during his Wednesday courtroom session while protesting against his trial without lawyers of his own choosing, after authorities also detained and charged his main lawyer, Erias Lukwago.

“Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being injured,” said Byanyima.

Ingrid Turinawe, a close confidant of Besigye, told The Associated Press that she and others were not allowed to see Besigye at Mulago hospital.

“He is in the ICU, and he is not responding to anything,” she said, adding that Besigye’s personal physician was able to see him several hours after he collapsed.

Besigye, a former ally-turned-critic of longtime President Yoweri ‌Museveni, has been in custody since November 2024. He was jailed together with his aide Obeid Lutale in Kenya and ⁠both were repatriated to Uganda where they were subsequently charged with treason.

Besigye’s lawyers, ⁠supporters and rights activists say ⁠that the charges are politically motivated and that his prolonged detention is part of an ongoing crackdown on opponents by ‌Museveni.

Both Museveni and his son, military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, have already weighed in against Besigye.

Kainerugaba, alleging that Besigye plotted to kill his father, has previously described the opposition figure as “a dead man walking”. And Museveni himself has said Besigye must answer for “the very serious offences he is alleged to have been planning”.

In recent days, prosecutors have moved to present evidence they say will prove Besigye and others plotted to overthrow the government

Museveni, 81, was declared winner of the last election in January although the results were rejected by ‌runner-up ‌Bobi Wine, who has since gone into exile in the United States.

EXPLAINER

The UN General Assembly voted 144-10 to grant Turk a new four-year term, despite objections from the US, Israel and Russia.

Volker Turk has been elected as United Nations human rights chief for another four-year term, despite strong objections from the United States, Russia and Israel.

The United Nations General Assembly vote on Friday means Turk, who has served in the role since 2022, will become the first person to serve two full terms as the UN rights chief since the position was created in 1993.

Who is Turk and why has his reappointment caused controversy?

Who is Volker Turk?

Turk, an Austrian lawyer, joined the United Nations in 1999 and went on to work in the organisation’s refugee agency. This included posts in Malaysia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He later worked in senior roles at UN headquarters in New York, including as assistant secretary-general for strategic coordination under UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The two are believed to have a close relationship.

In his role as UN rights chief, Turk has been highly critical of both Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has also been vocal on conflicts and rights abuses in Afghanistan, Sudan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nicaragua.

How was he reappointed?

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a proposal by Guterres to give Turk another four-year term with 144 votes in favour, 10 against and 13 abstentions.

Earlier, the assembly shot down a US proposal to delay the vote until the end of next week as well as a Russian bid to extend Turk’s term until the end of the year only.

How has Turk angered the US, Russia and Israel?

The role of UN human rights chief is inherently controversial because it requires public criticism of governments of UN members for alleged rights violations.

Turk’s outspoken criticism of policies in Israel, Russia and the US has put him at odds with all three countries.

Turk has repeatedly criticised Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, its deadly assault on Lebanon, and a “shameful” lack of accountability for its rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Turk has also described Russia’s war in Ukraine as “senseless” and a “blatant affront to the UN Charter and the whole body of international law”.

On the US, he has raised concerns about the war on Iran and the “dehumanisation” of immigrants under President Donald Trump, citing routine “abuse and denigration of migrants and refugees”.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised Turk’s record, saying that under his leadership the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has “erased the atrocities of October 7, misused funds, and betrayed UN neutrality in favor of corrupt political radicalism”.

Russia’s ⁠Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Chumakov accused Turk of bias and making unfounded allegations against Russia.

What objections were raised to Turk’s reappointment?

Guterres, whose own term is due to end at the end of this year, has faced criticism for how he managed the reappointment. Critics say the vote was rushed and the selection of a rights chief should have been left to his successor.

The UN secretary-general, whose term expires in December, sent letters to regional groups at the UN earlier this month informing them of his intention to reappoint Turk, and held the vote just weeks later.

The US Department of State criticised the vote for being rushed and said it was “another example of the UN’s inherent corruption and incompetence”.

The US also accused Turk of turning “a blind eye to real atrocities and instead pursued a radical ideological agenda”. US Deputy Ambassador Jeff Bartos claimed before Friday’s vote that reappointing Turk would prove that the General Assembly “is dysfunctional”.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Guterres’s push for a second term for Turk a “moral failure,” saying that the choice should be left to his successor.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres had followed UN rules and engaged “in a very transparent manner” in appointing Turk, including by holding prior consultations with member states and regional groups.

What other criticism has Turk faced?

Turk’s critics say he could have done more to publicly follow up on a report issued by his predecessor, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, that said China’s detention of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang may amount to crimes against humanity.

Turk also has stopped short of joining independent UN rights experts who have accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Turk’s office said he had used both private engagement with Beijing and his public advocacy to support human rights in China.

Austrian lawyer Volker Turk set to become first UN rights chief to complete two four-year terms since post was created.

Volkur Turk, the outspoken United Nations human rights chief who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and across the wider region, has won a vote to serve a second term in his role.

UN member states voted 144-10, with 13 abstentions, on Friday to keep Turk in his post as UN human rights chief. His term was set to expire on October 11, but he will now serve for an additional four years.

If he finishes his second term, he will be the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to do so since the post was created in 1993. The United States, Israel, Russia, North Korea and six others opposed his re-election.

Turk said he was “deeply grateful” to be re-elected.

“Human rights are the antidote to today’s turbulence and defeatism. I will give my all for the rights of everyone, everywhere,” he wrote in a social media post.

The rights chief has angered many in Israel by criticising the country’s genocidal war on Gaza, its attacks on Lebanon, and the “shameful” lack of accountability for rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territory.

A lawyer by training, Turk has spent almost his career working in the UN, including posts in the UNHCR, the UN’s dedicated body for refugees.

He has repeatedly urged Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, and said the state is accountable for any violations of human rights that it commits.

The European Union’s delegation at the UN welcomed Turk’s reappointment, saying it looks forward to working with his office to “promote and protect human rights worldwide”.

US and Israeli criticism

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had criticised Turk’s record, saying that under his leadership the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has “erased the atrocities of October 7, misused funds, and betrayed UN neutrality in favor of corrupt political radicalism”.

Israel has been accused by leading rights groups and UN experts of rampant rights abuses, including carrying out a genocide in Gaza.

Jeff Bartos, the US representative for UN Management and Reform, said that the UN human rights system has been losing credibility for decades, that Turk “led it to its deathbed” as Friday’s vote “kicked the bucket”.

The US has been Israel’s top ally and weapons provider.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres faced criticism for how he managed the vote on Turk’s second term.

Guterres, whose term expires in December, sent letters to regional groups at the UN earlier this month informing them of his intention to reappoint Turk, and held the vote just weeks later.

The US Department of State called the rushed vote “another example of the UN’s inherent corruption and incompetence”, saying Turk “turned a blind eye to real atrocities and instead pursued a radical ideological agenda.”

The incident was witnessed by the daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, another prominent political prisoner.

An intense heatwave has worsened the already harsh conditions faced by inmates at Tunisia’s Mornaguia prison and recently caused jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to temporarily lose consciousness, according to the daughter of another prominent political prisoner who says she witnessed the incident.

Haifa Chebbi, daughter of imprisoned 81-year-old opposition politician Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, said in an emotional live video posted on Facebook after a visit to the jail on Tuesday that she saw the 85-year-old Ghannouchi faint in the stifling heat and she felt barely able “to breathe or even walk on my own feet” by the time she left.

She said the temperature inside Mornaguia prison reached 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) during her visit. Detainees spend most of their time confined to cells no larger than 16 square metres (172 square feet), she added, and are only allowed to spend two hours a day outside.

In 2022 her father helped establish the National Salvation Front (FSN), a broad coalition of secular, liberal and Islamist groups opposed to the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied. He was among 37 opposition figures charged with “conspiracy against state security” in 2025, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk described the imprisonment of the 37 defendants as “a setback to justice and rule of law”.

“The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations,” Turk said in a statement in 2025.

Ghannouchi, a former parliament speaker and leader of the Ennahda political movement, has been imprisoned since 2023. He was rushed to hospital on April 30 following a sharp deterioration in his health, but is now back in Mornaguia prison.

In her video, Haifa was careful not to blame prison staff for conditions in the jail, saying they were doing everything they could and that elderly prisoners in particular were receiving special attention.

She said the incident she witnessed highlighted the toll prison conditions are taking on elderly inmates, several of whom are spending their fourth summer behind bars.

She named several other imprisoned opposition figures, including lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammami, prominent radio journalist Ziad El Hani, and activist Chaima Issa.

Linking the detentions to wider unrest over water and electricity shortages, Haifa said the crisis extends beyond prison walls. She called on Tunisians to take action to achieve meaningful political change, saying: “We are responsible for everything that will happen, whether negative or positive.”

Mérida, July 21, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Trump administration has vowed to play an active role in upcoming negotiations between the Venezuelan government and a US-backed opposition faction.

The government-aligned National Assembly and a group of opposition lawmakers from the 2015–2020 legislature recently announced a joint working agenda scheduled to begin August 1, with explicit support from the US State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the initiative during a press briefing on July 19, calling it “a very powerful offer.” 

“We’ll see where it goes, but we think that that agreement was broadly met in Venezuela as very good news, and obviously something we’re going to be very engaged in,” he told reporters.

Rubio emphasized that the upcoming talks are “a forum to begin the transition process, which is what the people of Venezuela need”. In the same way, the State Department, via a July 16 official statement, had pledged to back efforts “toward a peaceful and democratic electoral transition.”

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Rubio and other Trump officials have insisted on a “three-phase plan” that ends with a political transition.

The latest dialogue initiative emerged following a June 18 meeting between National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, who leads an opposition-majority legislature whose term ran from 2015-2020.

The defunct parliament retained US recognition as the Caribbean nation’s legitimate authority after the conclusion of its term in 2021, and has retained control over Venezuelan state assets frozen abroad.

According to statements from both sides, the working agenda prioritizes strengthening democratic institutions, reforming the electoral system, and restoring guarantees for political participation.

Figuera welcomed Rubio’s latest comments and argued that “active participation” from the Trump administration will be “essential to generate concrete progress.”

“We will invite all democratic sectors to participate and bring proposals toward a peaceful and democratic electoral transition,” she wrote on X. For their part, government officials, including Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, have not offered further comment on the talks since last week’s announcement.

In recent days, Figuera addressed criticism of her role in the negotiations, rejecting accusations that she was acting outside the opposition’s institutional framework.

The former lawmaker has faced scrutiny from other opposition sectors, particularly following her June 18 return to Caracas with US backing. Her meetings with Rodríguez and subsequent travel to Washington occurred weeks after far-right leader María Corina Machado had announced at a Panama gathering her intention to head negotiations with the government over future electoral processes.

On July 16, Machado met with high-ranking opposition figures from the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) coalition to assess the new dialogue initiative. The meeting was reported as a venue to “gather information” regarding the announced negotiations and “define a public position.” However, neither Machado nor the PUD have taken a stance on the upcoming talks.

Rubio’s influence over Venezuela was highlighted in a recent New York Times article that detailed the Trump administration’s involvement in the country’s day-to-day affairs. The report highlighted that US officials have sought to engage with institutional actors they consider manageable, including the 2015 National Assembly faction, as part of a strategy to reduce volatility in bilateral relations.

However, according to the Times, the approach has generated tensions within the opposition camp given the recent protagonism assumed by far-right Machado.

Caracas and Washington fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement following the January 3 attacks, with embassies reopening in both capitals. The Trump administration has seized control of Venezuelan oil export revenues and exerted influence over recent pro-business energy and mining reforms.

The US has also undertaken a significant military deployment in the country following the June 24 double earthquake, with US forces running logistical operations out of the Simón Bolívar International Airport and La Guaira port.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Caracas, July 15, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) –  The Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) and a group of former opposition lawmakers who served in the 2015–2020 legislature, led by Dinorah Figuera, announced the launch of a joint working agenda on August 1 aimed at “strengthening democracy” in the country.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, who is also the Venezuelan government’s lead negotiator, made the announcement on Tuesday via an official statement, reporting that both sides had agreed to “jointly confront the consequences of the twin earthquakes that have plunged the country into mourning.”

“Only in unity can we move forward with the reconstruction while keeping the peace,” the text read.

For its part, the opposition group said in a separate statement that the initiative constitutes a “roadmap to promote stability, democracy, and national recovery,” with the goal of beginning “the construction of a new stage that will lead to a Venezuela of progress and freedoms.” According to the document, the agenda will prioritize “strengthening democratic institutions, reinforcing the electoral system, and restoring guarantees for political participation.”

Figuera told media that the talks will involve 10-team delegations from both sides and claimed that the opposition faction will be involved in choosing new electoral authorities and Supreme Court justices, as well as in reforms to existing electoral laws.

She confirmed that the opposition has already selected several participants, including lawyers Juan Miguel Matheus and Sergio Vergara, businessman Jorge Millán, and former National Assembly Vice President Marco Aurelio Quiñones. No members of the Venezuelan government delegation are presently known.

Figuera took over the opposition-majority 2015–2020 National Assembly in 2023, despite its period having ended two years earlier. The legislature repeatedly renewed its own mandate as it maintained “recognition” from Washington as Venezuela’s legitimate authority. The anti-government group likewise retained control over several Venezuelan state assets frozen by the US and allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reposted the 2015–2020 National Assembly’s roadmap through his X account. US authorities had endorsed the talks when they were first announced in June. Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, Rubio has insisted on a “three-phase plan” that ends with a political “transition.”

The announcement of impending talks contrasted with Rodríguez stating on Saturday that the country “was not in the right frame of mind” to discuss issues related to the National Electoral Council (CNE), the Supreme Court (TSJ), or elections.

“We are concerned about people who have suffered the unimaginable. It would be disrespectful and insensitive for politicians to meet now to decide who should be appointed to the CNE or the TSJ. There will be time for that,” Rodríguez said.

Instead, he urged opposition leaders to work together on responding to the earthquake emergency, including reforms to the country’s housing laws and identifying land for the new constructions.

Just six days before the devastating earthquakes of June 24, Figuera traveled to Caracas with Washington’s backing to head negotiations with the Venezuelan government. During that June 18 visit, she met with Jorge Rodríguez and opposition leaders before traveling to the United States for additional discussions.

Her return took many opposition figures by surprise, as only weeks earlier María Corina Machado, speaking at a meeting of opposition politicians in Panama, had announced her intention to personally lead negotiations with the government over a future electoral process. The far-right leader announced a closed-door meeting with political allies on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming negotiations between the acting Delcy Rodríguez government and a separate opposition faction.

Amid these political developments, Acting President Rodríguez also appointed Johann Álvarez on July 14 as Venezuela’s new Chargé d’Affaires to the United States, tasking him with “representing the country’s interests and advancing a new stage of dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect.”

Álvarez most recently served as Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Superintendent of the country’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs). He replaces Félix Plasencia, who was chosen by Rodríguez to head the Foreign Ministry after merging it with the Foreign Trade Ministry.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

July 8 (Asia Today) — People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok is moving into street politics over the June 3 ballot shortage while also using the party’s ethics process to discipline internal critics, a strategy some see as an effort to consolidate support among the party’s hard-line base.

Jang attended a rally in Incheon on Wednesday condemning the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, beginning what is expected to be a series of visits to voting rights protests across the country.

It was his first appearance at a protest outside Seoul’s Songpa District, where demonstrations have continued for more than a month near Olympic Park.

Some party officials and political observers say Jang appears to be using street rallies to rally conservative supporters and push back against calls for his resignation. They say he is trying to regain political momentum by focusing on the ballot shortage and voting rights rather than internal power struggles.

But concerns are also growing inside the party.

Rep. Lee Sung-kwon, secretary of Alternative and Future, a reform-minded group of People Power Party lawmakers, said on YTN radio Wednesday that lawmakers may need to act if disciplinary action against party members becomes unfair.

“If disciplinary action becomes reality and unfair punishment is imposed, we must act,” Lee said. “If necessary, we can convene a general meeting of lawmakers or circulate a petition.”

Rep. Kim Jae-sub, who has been mentioned as a possible target of disciplinary action, criticized Jang during an appearance on a Channel A YouTube program.

“The person most responsible for the local election defeat is Jang,” Kim said. “It is difficult to understand why he is creating a disciplinary atmosphere everywhere under the pretext of restoring discipline. The person who has most harmed the party is Jang himself.”

Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae, who was referred to the party ethics committee over allegations that he asked Democratic Party lawmakers to vote against Park Deok-heum in the National Assembly vice speaker election, also criticized the leadership at a news conference.

“The irresponsibility of a leadership that refuses to take responsibility after an election defeat and the tyranny of suppressing colleagues who speak the truth are shaking the roots of the party,” Cho said.

A senior lawmaker from the southeastern Yeongnam region said Jang is closing off channels for internal communication and deepening his own isolation.

“The party must now recognize that its direction should be expanding its appeal, not rallying only hard-line supporters,” the lawmaker said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260709010003160

Caracas, June 19, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez held a meeting on Thursday with a US-picked opposition figure to launch a new political dialogue process.

In a statement, Rodríguez, who is also the Venezuelan government’s lead negotiator, disclosed talks with “the representative of the opposition lawmakers from the 2015-2020 period,” Dinorah Figuera, to launch “a joint technical and political working group” with “an agenda containing concrete milestones and timelines” aimed at “strengthening democracy.”

In a separate statement, the expired opposition-controlled 2015 National Assembly explained that the central objective of the process is “the construction of a shared vision for the future.” The communiqué claimed that the dialogue aims to establish a “roadmap for the construction of a democratic scenario” in the country. 

Figuera also met with US Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett in Caracas on Thursday.

For its part, the US State Department welcomed the meeting, describing it as the “first step” toward “a free Venezuela.” The Trump administration has insisted on a “three-phase process” for the Caribbean nation which culminates with a political “transition.”

According to Washington, the proposed agenda includes priorities such as rebuilding democratic institutions, strengthening the National Electoral Council (CNE), restoring guarantees for political participation, and protecting the civil liberties necessary for an open political debate.

“The cornerstone of any transition is inclusive dialogue. We hope that conversations between Venezuelan political parties and the interim government in Caracas continue in the coming weeks so that this work can begin,” stated Thomas Pigott, spokesperson for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Upon arriving at the airport on Thursday, Figuera told reporters that she had traveled to Venezuela at the invitation of the US State Department, with her tasks including the establishment of a “credible” electoral council. She added that her work intends to benefit all political forces while avoiding questions about whether the initiative had been coordinated with far-right leader María Corina Machado.

Figuera was among the lawmakers elected when the opposition won a parliamentary majority in December 2015. Anti-government parties attempted to use the National Assembly to overthrow the Nicolás Maduro government and pushed several laws that were struck down as unconstitutional. It was eventually sidelined after being declared in contempt by the Supreme Court, with the South American country’s legislation taken over by a government-supporting National Constituent Assembly. The ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) retook control of the legislature in the 2020 and 2025 elections that were boycotted by many opposition sectors.

Though the 2015 National Assembly’s term expired in January 2021, it unilaterally renewed its own mandate for successive one-year periods. The defunct parliament retained US recognition as Venezuela’s legitimate authority, which allowed it to manage Venezuelan assets abroad. Washington’s backing ended in March when Trump recognized Acting President Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s “sole leader.”

Figuera, who has lived in Spain since 2018, took over as president of the opposition-controlled body in January 2023 following the dissolution of the self-proclaimed “interim government” led by Juan Guaidó.

At the time, Venezuelan judicial authorities denounced Figuera’s role in an “illegitimate” parliament that aimed to “plunder Venezuelan assets abroad” and issued an arrest warrant and an Interpol red alert. While several opposition figures have benefited from an amnesty law approved by the present National Assembly in February, it is not known whether Figuera was among those whose legal cases were dropped.

Figuera’s return to Caracas also comes just weeks after the Unitary Platform—the coalition that groups the country’s main opposition parties—agreed during a meeting in Panama that far-right María Corina Machado would “lead negotiations with Chavismo to call elections” and eventually run as a presidential candidate.

Machado and the Unitary Platform have yet to comment on Figuera’s talks with the acting Delcy Rodríguez government, having previously demanded elections within a 40-week timeframe.

Since the January 3 strikes and kidnapping of Maduro, the Trump administration has wielded a strong influence over Venezuelan affairs. US officials have openly participated in legislative initiatives to open the Caribbean nation’s energy and mining sectors to Western companies while also accompanying corporate executives on trips to discuss business opportunities.

US forces likewise conducted an extrajudicial execution in Venezuelan territory earlier this month, with Caracas calling it a “joint operation” against organized crime.

Despite the diplomatic rapprochement and catering to US investment, Venezuelan authorities had previously brushed aside talk of early presidential elections. Maduro’s term, currently held by Delcy Rodríguez in an acting capacity, ends in January 2031. In a February interview with US conservative outlet Newsmax, parliamentary leader Jorge Rodríguez stated that no elections were expected in the short term because the priority was achieving economic stability.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

May 31 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party has filed a police complaint against President Lee Jae-myung, accusing him of violating election law by exposing a marked ballot during early voting for the June 3 local elections.

People Power Party Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok and other party officials visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Saturday to file the complaint against Lee and officials from the National Election Commission who were present at the polling station. Yonhap reported the complaint alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act.

The controversy began Friday when Lee stepped out of a voting booth during early voting and asked an election official whether a partially stamped ballot would still be valid. The opposition party said Lee’s handling of the marked ballot violated the principle of secret voting and the election law provision barring disclosure of a marked ballot.

Jang said Lee’s action could not be dismissed as a simple procedural mistake.

“This is not about one person,” Jang said. “It is about protecting the law and the principles of elections.”

The People Power Party also raised concerns about Lee’s public appearances ahead of the local elections, including visits to traditional markets, arguing they could violate restrictions on election involvement by public officials.

The party also accused election officials at the polling station of failing to take proper action after the ballot was allegedly exposed, saying they should face allegations under election law and possible dereliction of duty.

The National Election Commission previously said Lee did not leave the polling station and did not intentionally expose the ballot, meaning the incident did not constitute a legal violation. The commission also said Lee returned to the booth and completed voting after receiving guidance from officials.

The ruling Democratic Party rejected the opposition’s claims, saying Lee had merely asked an election official to confirm whether the stamp mark was valid.

The party said Lee did not reveal support for any candidate and accused the People Power Party of turning a minor incident into a political offensive before election day.

The dispute has added to the political tension surrounding South Korea’s local elections, which are being closely watched as an early test of public support for Lee’s government.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260601010009198

This article is also published in Spanish on the Hacha y Machete Substack

Last weekend, the opposition achieved the familiar show of unity in Panama City, something that is not always easy to pull off. Party representatives agreed to fight for free elections and to back María Corina Machado as the candidate in any eventual vote. Machado, for her part, promised to return before the end of 2026. 

This is a milestone that should inspire at least some optimism. Five months ago, this group of people was scattered, waiting, in exile or in hiding. But given the sheer scale of Venezuela’s democratic challenge, the unity photo-op, the return of exiled leaders, and the reemergence of figures from hiding remain insufficient. 

Some politicians have returned to the country or emerged from hiding, but without a clear, politically binding agenda for achieving free elections recognized by all actors. The current dynamics still force us to react to the regime’s horrors. The case of Víctor Quero and Carmen Teresa Navas is among the clearest examples. 

Before Venezuela can achieve a true transition, the country’s pro-democracy movement must first undergo its own internal transition. Returns and displays of unity can alter incentives only if they become part of a public, coordinated, and understandable strategy. These are the main elements such a strategy should include.

A clear division of roles and responsibilities

Opening up the political playing field requires a clear division of roles and responsibilities. María Corina Machado and Juan Pablo Guanipa can embody a kind of “good cop/bad cop” dynamic within the democratic movement. The “good cop” would be Machado, whose messaging is already closely aligned with Trump’s policy toward Venezuela. The “bad cop” is Guanipa, whose rhetoric has become increasingly impatient regarding the goal of democratic transition.

If the democratic transition is truly a la venezolana, the debate about it must be taken out of the conference rooms in Washington and Caracas. 

But that differentiation cannot remain confined to national leadership figures alone. Student organizations, victims’ groups and human rights defenders, labor unions, and social organizations are equally crucial. These actors have earned legitimacy on the ground before January 3, when many were swept aside by a brutal wave of repression from which parties are still recovering. Since then, civil society has reaffirmed new leadership figures who, despite lacking party experience, could play important roles in the looming political cycle.

What matters is that this differentiation of roles be coordinated rather than improvised or competitive. Opening up the political field does not mean diluting political leadership. It means expanding the democratic movement’s range of action.

Combine negotiation with protest

There is no contradiction between the two. Negotiation without social pressure does little more than managing stagnation. Protest without a political roadmap burns out. What is needed is to give the streets political content: mobilizing not only against the regime’s abuses, but also in favor of a concrete transition agenda.

The role of movements is to protest, propose, and articulate the kind of transition they want. Just as students in 2007 embraced the campaign against the constitutional referendum and defeated Hugo Chávez, these grassroots movements should also assume a proactive role in shaping the type of transition they identify with.

That requires organizing a kind of “social roundtable” capable of coordinating different causes. These are autonomous rivers that can converge into the same lake: free elections and a broad national agreement on the direction of post-electoral public policy. Each movement has its own identity and internal dynamics, but there must be some degree of coordination and communication among them and with the broader national political agenda.

Protests also present a constant dilemma for the ruling Rodríguez siblings, a litmus test for their supposed liberalization. Demonstrations must remain peaceful and disciplined in order to deepen their dilemma.

Open up the conversation about democratic transition

The Machado-led opposition coalition and its allies have a responsibility to promote an open discussion about transition: what it means, how it is built, and what dilemmas it entails.

Dilemmas are never truly solved. They are weighed in terms of risks, benefits, opportunities, and threats. If the democratic transition is truly a la venezolana, the debate about it must be taken out of the conference rooms in Washington and Caracas. Not everything was decided in Panama City.

This time, the goal would be to bring together different groups and individuals to debate the diverse and legitimate visions of our own transition.

That conversation should include at least three dimensions:

The political-institutional dimension: What minimum guarantees would make a transition possible? What conditions would make an election politically binding? Should Venezuela pursue a constituent assembly? Should the process begin with a presidential election or a parliamentary one? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?

The social-humanitarian dimension: How do institutional reforms connect with people’s daily needs, such as wages, public services, security, justice and family reunification?

The electoral dimension: What should the sequencing of elections look like? (As far as we know, there was no agreement on this point in Panama). Should Venezuela return to a manual voting system? How can a trustworthy electoral authority (CNE) be guaranteed, and who should be part of it? What expectations and steps are required to secure the political inclusion of the diaspora and of millions of citizens inside Venezuela who cannot vote in the current circumstances?

Before the 2023 opposition primaries, there was one essential experience that helped build momentum: the Hablan los Candidatos debate, organized by students and activists in July 2023 at the Aula Magna of Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. Now imagine an event, or a series of events on a much larger scale. But this time, rather than candidates, the goal would be to bring together different groups and individuals to debate the diverse and legitimate visions of our own transition.

Use technology boldly

Technology can become a central tool to expand this deliberative process. Digital consultations, hybrid assemblies, spaces for dialogue with the diaspora, coordination mechanisms among professional associations, students, parties, unions, victims, and social organizations: all of this can help rebuild a democratic infrastructure for participation.

Producing a political milestone is not enough. A sequence must be built.

During both the primaries and July 28, the democratic movement used technology in exemplary and innovative ways. Through different applications, people found their polling centers, filed complaints, participated in defending the vote, and helped publish the real results. We need to use technology with that same boldness again, this time within a broader strategy of deliberating, coordinating, and disseminating the agenda of democratic transition.

Plan the sequence

The experience of January 2019 reminds us of something important: political milestones are never improvised. That strategy (whether or not one agrees with its tactics and consequences) was planned months in advance among political parties, civil society, and the leadership of the 2015 National Assembly. What is needed today is a similar level of preparation, but with one additional lesson that may prove decisive: producing a political milestone is not enough. A sequence must be built.

A unity photo may mark the beginning of a new phase. The return of political leaders may help shift public expectations or reshape the outlook of potential voters. A protest met with repression can show  the limits of the regime’s liberalization, something we have already seen this year with students, public-sector workers, and pensioners. A public debate can help organize competing visions of transition, giving oxygen and substance to a public sphere that must continue looking for spaces for deliberation. But none of these things, in isolation, constitutes a strategy.

The democratic movement has already found innovative, intelligent, and popular solutions to political dilemmas. It has pulled rabbits out of hats, brilliant plays in a perverse game, such as the feat of July 28, 2024. However, even rabbits do not appear by magic. The next move must emerge from the lessons and achievements that are already part of the movement’s democratic inheritance. 

We should do what we have already done and know we can do: open up the political field, bring people down from the stands, turn indignation into an agenda, and transform the return of many into movement-building.

Violence erupted after Turkish police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition CHP party in Ankara following a court ruling that removed leader Ozgur Ozel and reinstated former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Officers fired tear gas and smashed through barricades, removing Ozel from the building.

Turkiye’s main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel has vowed not to leave party headquarters after a court ruling removed him from power. Speaking to supporters in Ankara, Ozel accused judges and prosecutors of carrying out a coup attempt against his party.